Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75
God Judges the Wicked
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph.(A) A song.
1 We give thanks to you, God;
we give thanks to you, for your name is near.(B)
People tell about your wondrous works.(C)
2 “When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.(D)
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,
I am the one who steadies its pillars.(E)Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.(F)
5 Do not lift up your horn against heaven[a]
or speak arrogantly.’”(G)
6 Exaltation does not come
from the east, the west, or the desert,
7 for God is the Judge:
He brings down one and exalts another.(H)
8 For there is a cup in the Lord’s hand,
full of wine blended with spices, and he pours from it.
All the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it to the dregs.(I)
9 As for me, I will tell about him forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.(J)
10 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,(K)
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”(L)
Psalm 76
God, the Powerful Judge
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph.(M) A song.
1 God is known in Judah;
his name is great in Israel.(N)
2 His tent is in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.(O)
3 There he shatters the bow’s flaming arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.(P)Selah
4 You are resplendent and majestic
coming down from the mountains of prey.(Q)
5 The brave-hearted have been plundered;
they have slipped into their final sleep.
None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.(R)
6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob,
both chariot and horse lay still.(S)
7 And you—you are to be feared.[b]
When you are angry,
who can stand before you?(T)
8 From heaven you pronounced judgment.
The earth feared and grew quiet(U)
9 when God rose up to judge
and to save all the lowly of the earth.(V)Selah
10 Even human wrath will praise you;
you will clothe yourself
with the wrath that remains.[c](W)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
I have what I need.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
he leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths[a]
for his name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;(F)
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.(G)
Psalm 27
My Stronghold
Of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?(A)
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
whom should I dread?(B)
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,(C)
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.(D)
3 Though an army deploys against me,
my heart will not be afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
I will still be confident.(E)
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,(F)
gazing on the beauty of the Lord(G)
and seeking him in his temple.(H)
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter
in the day of adversity;
he will hide me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.(I)
6 Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;(J)
I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy.(K)
I will sing and make music to the Lord.(L)
7 Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.(M)
8 My heart says this about you:
“Seek[a] his face.”
Lord, I will seek your face.(N)
9 Do not hide your face from me;(O)
do not turn your servant away in anger.(P)
You have been my helper;(Q)
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.(R)
28 The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban,(A) and Laban ran out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he had heard his sister Rebekah’s words—“The man said this to me!”—he went to the man. He was standing there by the camels at the spring.
31 Laban said, “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord.(B) Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” 32 So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded.(C) Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was brought to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.
33 A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”
So Laban said, “Please speak.”
34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. 35 “The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. 36 Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master in her[a] old age,(D) and he has given him everything he owns.(E) 37 My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live 38 but will go to my father’s family and to my clan to take a wife for my son.’
49 Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master,(A) tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere.”[a]
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter.[b](B) 51 Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master’s son, just as the Lord has spoken.”
12 Therefore, strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees,(A) 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated[a] but healed instead.(B)
Warning against Rejecting God’s Grace
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness(C)—without it no one will see the Lord.(D) 15 Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many.(E) 16 And make sure that there isn’t any immoral[b] or irreverent(F) person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for a single meal.(G) 17 For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, even though he sought it with tears, because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance.(H)
18 For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, 19 to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, 20 for they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.[c](I) 21 The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear.[d](J) 22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering,(K) 23 to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written[e] in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect,(L) 24 and to Jesus, the mediator(M) of a new covenant,(N) and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.(O)
25 See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven.(P) 26 His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.[f](Q) 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken(R)—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,(S) 29 for our God is a consuming fire.(T)
14 When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple(A) and began to teach. 15 Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How is this man so learned,(B) since he hasn’t been trained?”
16 Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me.(C) 17 If anyone wants to do his will,(D) he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. 18 The one who speaks on his own seeks his own glory;(E) but he who seeks the glory(F) of the one who sent him is true,(G) and there is no unrighteousness in him.(H) 19 Didn’t Moses(I) give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law.(J) Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 “You have a demon!” the crowd responded. “Who is trying to kill you?”
21 “I performed one work,(K) and you are all amazed,” Jesus answered. 22 “This is why Moses has given you circumcision(L) —not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers(M) —and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.(N) 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath(O) so that the law of Moses(P) won’t be broken, are you angry at me because I made a man entirely well on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging(Q) according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.”
The Identity of the Messiah
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem(R) were saying, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities(S) know he is the Messiah?(T) 27 But we know where this man is from.(U) When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from.”
28 As he was teaching in the temple,(V) Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me(W) is true. You don’t know him;(X) 29 I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.”(Y)
30 Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. 31 However, many from the crowd believed in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he won’t perform more signs than this man has done,(Z) will he?” 32 The Pharisees(AA) heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and so the chief priests(AB) and the Pharisees sent servants[a] to arrest him.
33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time.(AC) Then I’m going to the one who sent me.(AD) 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”(AE)
35 Then the Jews(AF) said to one another, “Where does he intend to go that we won’t find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the Jewish people dispersed[b](AG) among the Greeks(AH) and teach the Greeks, does he? 36 What is this remark he made: ‘You will look for me, and you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come’(AI)?”
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.